Cooking vs Convenience

I have this little brown box that holds my handwritten recipes, before the easy days of down loading from the computer. I was going through it the other day and was amazed at some of the things in there. Most were so faded, stained, and my mom's Sour Cream Chocolate Chip cookie recipe was half burnt. Then I remembered, that I had cooked it with a batch of cookies and I thought it was funny it had survived. Why I never rewrote it...probably got busy with life. Everything is about convenience these days. I rarely ate out as kid, not because we couldn't but my mom was a great cook. Although, I love to cook... Gregg takes me out quite often on weekends(So many great restaurants in Tampa) but it gives me the chance to come home and try to duplicate the meal.
As you all know, I have been on a strict diet. After talking with a friend, Sue, I started to re-evaluate and increased the calorie count, not a lot but enough I don't feel like death after working out. I also have been reading this book by Jillian Michael's on metabolism, she was saying we are so screwed up because of all the chemicals in processed food. So last week, I started going through the cupboards seeing what I could make that I couldn't buy fresh or organic. I am not turning into a health nut but if I can change just a few things, at least I know what is going into my families bodies. One thing, I have always done that saves time is I plan a menu for two weeks in advance, do we always stick to it...No. Since I love to cook, I have been known to spend hours going over recipes, thinking how to tweak them. Luckily, only a few toxic wastes have happened...LOL.
After shopping, I come home and pre-cut the veggies and separate meat into freezer bags-if we are having hamburgers, I'll form the patties. It is time consuming after you just spent hours shopping but when you go to cook, it is a breeze to pull out that prepared stuff. With Faith's late gymnastic nights, I try to plan crock pot meals, casseroles or different meals that can be cooked in shifts for our crazy schedule. Poor Faith, she can't eat heavy beforehand- so she eats some healthy snacks. Some nights not getting home until 9 p.m., she is starved but I want to make sure she has something good waiting. She needs to refuel after three or more hours of working out.
I found this recipe that has been handed down on the Anthous side of family and came from their Granny Line, she was in her late nineties when she died. We love to make pancakes and waffles on the weekend. I had quite a time finding the buttermilk powder, a store employee and I spent about 20 minutes looking. This is a great recipe and stores for 6 months.

Pancake & Waffle Mix
Mix-8 cups flour
2 cups Buttermilk powder
2 tsp.salt
4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 c. sugar
( 8 tsp)-2 2/3 tab. baking powder
Mix well and store in tight container for six months.
To make pancakes or waffles-
1 1/2 cups mix
1 cup water
2 eggs
3 tabs. oil
She even added a Pioneer "Maple Syrup"
1 1/2 cups water
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 tsp. maple flavor
Boil for 2 minutes.

I do love to cook and the compliments that come with it. It is also great sitting at the table and sharing stories about your day. Especially, with kids because they grow so fast.